1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to coupling a cooling device to a circuit board for dissipating heat from a processing unit, such as a graphics processing unit, mounted to the circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
A computer system operates using processors coupled to circuit boards. For example, a graphics processing unit (GPU) offers dedicated graphics rendering capabilities to the system. The GPU may sit on top of a circuit board to form a graphics card or video card disposed within the system. In order to remove heat generated by the GPU during operation, a heat removal device that often includes a heat sink formed with heat dissipating protrusions is oftentimes coupled to the GPU so that heat can be transferred from the GPU to the heat sink and dissipated.
In many designs, a preset amount of load, forcing the heat sink against the GPU, helps achieve thermal transfer from the GPU to the heat sink. The load avoids potential for air gaps between the heat sink and the GPU without causing damage to the GPU from excess force. In certain designs, a helical spring around each attachment screw or a v-clip disposed on an opposite side of the circuit board from the GPU attaches at least two points on the heat sink to the circuit board. Such attachments control the load induced on the GPU.
However, the above approach has definite drawbacks. First, during assembly, each screw must be sequentially screwed into the heat sink at each of the attachment points. This process is a time consuming and inefficient and can be difficult for users. Second, the v-clip must be attached one side at a time. When installing the first side, the v-clip both deflects and rotates. Because of the deflection, installing the second side of the v-clip however requires more force and, hence, work compared to installing the first side. Specifically, the v-clip must, without rotation, deflect through a larger angle and, thus, greater distance since the first side is already being held in place by an attachment screw. In addition, the increased resistance from the v-clip makes screwing down the attachment screws on the second side of the v-clip more difficult.
Therefore, there exists a need for apparatus and methods to improve attaching of cooling devices to processors, such as GPUs, on circuit boards.